Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lighting systems and methods of installing lighting systems and, more specifically, to a lighting system configured to provide a decorative lighting system for attachment to a building or other structure.
State of the Related Art
Exterior string lights are attached to the exterior of buildings, such as homes, typically, for a particular holiday or occasion. One occasion where such string lights are attached to the exterior of homes is Christmas. The lights are often temporarily installed using various clasps, clips or other mechanical fasteners to the eaves, gutters or rooflines of the home prior to the holiday and then removed some time after the holiday.
One attempt in the art to provide a structure for supporting of a string of lights is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,088 to Contigiani. The elongate channel is comprised of two channels that are mated together, with one of the channels having a plurality of evenly spaced holes for receiving the lights from the light string. The other channel is used to mount the elongate housing to an existing structure. U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,088, however, is limited in its ability to be provided in extremely long lengths for providing lights completely or substantially around a building on a single circuit. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,088 fails to provide a system by which the lights are secured in place during assembly and after installation to prevent the lights from moving or becoming dislodged from the channel having the plurality of evenly spaced holes.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 8,926,118 discloses another channel-based system for securing a string of lights relative to the eaves of a building. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 8,926,118 is a J-shaped channel for supporting a conventional light string. Like U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,033,088, 8,926,118 is necessarily limited to the length of the light strands that can be coupled together on a single circuit and is also limited to provide a single color scheme based on the light strands and bulbs installed in the channel. U.S. Pat. No. 8,926,118 is also limited in its ability to secure the lights to the channel having a plurality of evenly spaced holes.
It would be advantageous, however, to provide a system for installing a lighting system that not only conceals the string lighting system to a large extent, but that allows the string lighting system to be used for any number of occasions or for providing accent lighting to the house or other building structure, that allows the lighting system to be extended over significant lengths on a single circuit and without requiring multiple light controllers for the light strand and that is easy to install.